Issue 90.4

MAY 202 2 90.4

Every Tuesday to Friday, 8:30am - 10:30am during term.

Level 5, Union House

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EDITORIAL 7 SRC PRESIDENT’S REPORT 8 STATE OF THE UNION 10 VOX? POP! 12

CONTENTS

LEFT RIGHT CENTRE 14 EDITORS’ PICKS 17 ECON-DIT 18 SUSTAINABILI-DIT 20 SYSTEMATIC REVIEW 22 CLUB SPOTLIGHT 24

ARTICLES AND CREATIVE WRITING THE DISEASE OF CENTRISM 25 REALISM IS A ROAD TO RUIN

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ACCESSIBILITY AT THE SGM

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BALANCING CAPITAL AND LABOUR: UNDERSTANDING THE SA ELECTION 30 LOADED: BOOK REVIEW 32 WHAT UNIVERSITIES OWE TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

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DECRIMINALISING SEX WORK 36 WITHOUT DISABILITY INCLUSION, YOUR ACTIVISM IS WORTHLESS 38 FUCK YOUR STUPOL 40 STUDENT WELLBEING BLOGS 42 WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RUNNING FOR ELECTION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT 44 INTERVIEW WITH THE CHATS 46 TWO OUTCOMES 48 MY MOTHER CRIES WHILE FOLDING LAUNDRY

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IT ENDED HOW IT BEGAN 51 FRUIT AISLE 52 THE RETURN OF THE KING: HOW THE COMEBACK OF NICK XENOPHON COULD CHANGE THE SA SENATE RACE

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EDITORS

GRAPHIC DESIGN

CONTRIBUTORS & SUB-EDITORS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

LILY BAXTER ‘HEXED WOMAN’ (available for purchase at lilymaya.bigcartel.com)

JENNY SURIM JUNG

JESS MARNIE KARIM HASSAN MAXIM BUCKLEY JAMES WOOD NIX HERRIOT ALEXANDRA SUDLOWHAYLETT SIENNA SULICICH EDWARD SATCHEL CAITLIN BATTYE GRACE TAYLOR CODY JAMES DAVIES SEBASTIAN ANDREWS SHANNON RAWLINGS ADEN HILL

CREDITS

COVER ART

GRACE ATTA HABIBAH JAGHOORI CHANEL TREZISE JENNY SURIM JUNG

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Kaurna people and their elders past, present and future as the traditional custodians of the land on which the University of Adelaide stands. We acknowledge that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

EDI T

ORIAL

The other day I was sitting in the hub and overheard every On Dit editor’s dream. A group of people with copies of On Dit debating the contents of our last issue. No doubt, given the upcoming elections, which greet us with candidate signs (the festive decorations of the ‘election season’) at every stobie pole and street light we drive by, the political issues presented in the magazine were of particular interest. From the views (or lack thereof) espoused by various political parties within Left Right Centre to the social issues addressed throughout following articles. There was conversation, disagreement, sighs of exasperation, but then also seemingly thoughtful nods and maybe one enlightened pause in considering a perspective not yet encountered. That right there, was a goal achieved.

When you ask me why I decided to study journalism, I have to admit I’m rather sentimental.

Admittedly I probably entered this industry with a romanticised goal in mind. I wanted (and really I still want) to tell stories and through this, inform, educate and entertain… yes, I am quoting the three golden words of western journalism. Ultimately, I wanted my storytelling to allow people to debate, to become impassioned, to empathise, to learn and to grow. And while narrative based journalism is not always possible for every story, I do think making the news more accessible is important. I think sometimes, particularly when you have the privilege of being university educated, and arugably further so in the arts where politics is a part of almost everything we study, we forget how easy it is for so many to become disengaged and indeed disenfranchised from such political discussions.

I have learnt over the last couple years in having tough conversations over topical issues with family members, that when faced with a new and seemingly controversial issue, people will often connect with humans before they do ideas. For instance some will saying ‘I don’t get feminism’, but then no doubt feel nothing but heartbreak in seeing the horror of yet another woman dying at the hands of her intimate partner. It’s then, sometimes (realistically not always) that we start to have some conducive discussions around the oppression and abuse faced by women. Or even the case of climate change. We look to the people who are faced with the devastating consequences of the extreme, 1% probability (one in a hundred year) floods in Queensland and NSW this year, knowing it is only one indicator of the climate crisis, and say…see, this isn’t political, it’s human. In the case of our university – as appalling as it is – it seems to be one thing to know statistically that sexual harrassment and assualt is a big issue on campus, and yet another entirely to read the news reports of the experiences of someone who lives with the implications of being that statistic. And only now we take action? I recognise what I describe is flawed and frustrating at times, but I do believe it nonetheless shows the importance of us having real conversations with one another. Sharing our knowledge, our experiences and equally listening to that of others, especially when they belong to a group typically marginalised by the mainstream media.

My hope is that On Dit, in this issue and the ones that follow within and beyond my editorial role, will be a place for and instagator of these types of conversations. That people can read the statistics, the ideas, as well as the lived experiences, and understand that everything we engage with is ‘political’, and yet equally inherently human. Healthcare, education, the environment, safety and security, identity, food, art, representation and recognition, may be political issues, but they are only so, because they are essential to the quality of human life.

I hope you enjoy our Issue 4 and let the conversations begin!

Sincerely, Grace Atta

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[src]_ president/s report_ There is an event of global significance I want to dedicate this column to.

On April 1st, rag-tag Staten Island workers took on the second-wealthiest company in the world and won. The Amazon Labour Union (ALU), led by former Amazon workers Chris Smalls and Derrick Palmer, ran the first successful union drive of an Amazon warehouse in the United States.

This is the US labor movement’s biggest success in decades. As student unionists, we celebrate their achievement as a mammoth win for our side. Amazon used aggressive antiunion tactics, including firing (then arresting!) Smalls for campaigning, spending over $4 million on anti-union consultants, using racially charged language like “inarticulate thugs” to denigrate the black ALU leadership, holding forced-attendance anti-union meetings, and plastering the workplace with enormous scare-campaign. Their success against a foe as powerful as Amazon shows that no institution is an impenetrable monolith. Amazon has a turnover rate of 100% every eight months. The win proves no workplace 8

is too precarious to organise. It also shows that the Democrats are no friends of the working class – socalled socialist Alexandria OcasioCortez infamously washed her hands of the campaign tweeting it “isn’t in my district”. Finally, the union drive proves that if we want to win, we can’t rely on others to do it for us. Staten Island organisers were determined not to repeat the failed 2021 failed Alabama warehouse union drive, which used paid, outsider union organisers, not the workers themselves, to build the campaign.

The methods used by the ALU point a way forward for us, even far away in sleepy South Australia.

Staten Island organisers behaved the way any self-respecting leftist should: they raised expectations and organised collectively to challenge power.

While they used group chats and TikTok to draw people in and make arguments about the need to unionise for higher wages, safety at work and better conditions, social media (so often over-relied upon) wasn’t their

main technique.

Their focus was on the bread-andbutter of classic organising: setting up stalls, tents, bus stop bonfires – whatever it took to facilitate faceto-face conversations with their coworkers. They learned from the history of our class, reading classic texts on previous successful union drives, and dedicated themselves to drawing in wider and wider layers of workers in the process of organising. They rejected the idea that the union is something that stands above us – it is us!

Without resources (similar to the SRC today) they argued hard that their power comes from active, democratic, collective involvement of those it represents.

Radicals today face unfavourable circumstances. The highpoint of struggle is decades behind us. But where there is oppression, there is resistance. And the crises of capitalism, from the pandemic, cost of living increases, climate change and war compel us to organise to defend our interests. The Amazon union win alone won’t change the world. But it points the way forward for all those willing to organise wherever they are, on campus or in the workplace, using their unions as organising centres from which to begin the work of challenging the rich and powerful.

words_ by// ana_ obradovic

[src_president]

The union faces its next mammoth barrier: negotiating a labour contract with Amazon. But Smalls is undaunted, and we should take a lead from his attitude: ‘People should know by now – we’re fighters.

Whatever way, by any means, whatever it takes – we’re going to get it done.’

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STATE OF THE UNION The University released its results from the National Student Safety Survey (NSSS), with 1373 University of Adelaide students participating in the survey. Clubs and societies, events and spaces have been identified as the third most reported location where a sexual assault or sexual harassment (SASH) incident is likely to occur at our University.

The AUU is funded by the University to provide an administrative framework for Clubs so they can function autonomously and access financial support. Given the contribution Clubs make to campus life, we are incredibly passionate about advocating for their best interests.

We take SASH issues very seriously and have undertaken a range of important initiatives, including: 1. Advocating and achieving the relocation of the Security Office to a more accessible location 2. Providing compulsory First Responder training for all student leaders, including AUU Board Directors, SRC Officer Bearers, On Dit Directors and Clubs Executives, to assist them to deal with 10

disclosures victims

and

provide

support

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3. Making Risk Assessments compulsory for Clubs for any event(s) that are attended by more than 100 people and/ or people who are under 18 years of age.

This is also compulsory for events taking place outside of the campus.

Despite these significant steps forward, there is still much more that needs to be done. That’s why we are continuing to work with the University to deliver the following essential outcomes for students: 1. Compulsory Consent Matters course completion and First Responder training for all students 2. Making First Responder training available at least once per month on an ongoing basis 3. Improving the promotion of University support and reporting channels to increase student awareness 4. Lobbying the University to take on primary responsibility for all universityrelated student conduct, and more specifically for club activities and events.

WORDS BY OSCAR ZI SHAO ONG | AUU PRESIDENT

Student-led activities are a fundamental part of student life and University experience. As such, we believe it is essential that the University takes full responsibility for the management of student behaviour and conduct in all facets of student life, not just inside the classroom. Responsibility must not be passed to the AUU or our small student-led clubs and groups who lack the required resources and expertise to assess and manage such issues.

We will continue to work with the University closely and hold them accountable in efforts of preventing SASH and supporting SASH victims.

If you need advice or assistance, you can speak to someone immediately by phoning the University Crisis Line (24/7) on 1300 167 654 or by texting 0488 884 197, or you can book an appointment with a Student Counsellor.

Questions/suggestions about the AUU/university? You are always welcome to email me or send me a message through social media!

Oscar Zi Shao Ong AUU President oscarzishao.ong@adelaide.edu.au Facebook/WeChat ID: oscarong1997

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1. WHAT BOOK IS YOUR CURRENT TOP RECOMMENDATION?

? ?

X X O V VO

2. IT’S NYE 2021. WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR PAST SELF?

Alessia Lelli

Isla Walker

4th Year | B. Media/Arts

3rd Year | B. International Relations

2. Maybe say what you’re feeling when you feel it. Don’t let things boil and spill over.

1. Women and Other Monsters by Jess Zimmerman is an analysis of Greek mythology through a feminist lens combined with memori-esque anecdotes from the author.

While some moments in the book definitely need more perspective and development, I still found it a captivating read as someone who is interested in feminist commentary and also had a childhood obsession with Percy Jackson!

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

Extremely well-written and detailed, set in a post-apocalyptic landscape that is very easy to understand and can relate to as a reader in this current (post-) pandemic world. (Still somewhat ‘scapist’ despite familiar themes of disease outbreak and global hysteria).

3. Honestly watching Vogue Beauty Secrets Videos. So calming. Or talking to random hot guys in the street. Or touching myself? Or listening to music loudly and angst-walking through the library, making a lot of eye contact. Or yoga and exercise. And sitting in the sun, soaking in any warmth.

4. The vegetarian wrap from Grind & Press in the Hub. 12

2. Don’t take things so personally!! Not everything requires your time and energy!!!

3. Still learning how to de-stress :’) but mainly by listening to my current audio book while walking along the beach 4. Can’t go wrong with BBQ pork and rice from Hawkers Corner…mhmm

P PO OP P!!

3. WE’RE GETTING CLOSE TO PEAK ASSESSMENT TIME - HOW DO YOU DE-STRESS? 4. WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO LUNCH ORDER ON CAMPUS?

Finn

2nd Year | B. Arts

Akshobhya Pandey

3rd Year | B. International Relations 1. The Prince, Machiavelli.

2. To ground myself firmly before attempting to leap into the stars.

3. Depends on my mood, but most of the time it’s social interaction. If I’m feeling mellow, I love leaving the house and just sitting in front of a view by myself. Or doing mundane tasks outside the house and pretending I’m in my own world.

4. Half priced schnitzel sandwiches after 4:30pm. If you know you know.

1. Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti, a brilliant insight into fascism, and how through understanding it, we can better fight it. Incredibly digestible, strongly recommend for those of us who are easily bored by lengthy and wordy non-fiction, and instead want something you can read in a cafe with a coffee, without looking pretentious.

2. Don’t forget to go on long walks. A habit I’ve had for the last 4 years of my life is long aimless walks, a nice way to get out, feel the sunshine and clear the head. I haven’t kept up with it this year, and I feel that’s had a serious effect. Best to get out and about again.

3. Stop for a moment, make a cup of tea, make a sandwich or other easy meal. Just getting up and separating yourself from the work for a moment, even for 5-10 minutes to make and enjoy some food, can do wonders for a quick reset.

4. Vietnamese roll and a Vietnamese iced coffee, little beats it.

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LRC 90.4

1. The federal budget was released on the 29th of March - what are your party’s key takeaways?

2. The crisis in Sri Lanka is worsening as protesters continue to clash with Police and Government forces. Provide a brief analysis of the issue and the solution for it.

3. With the days of toilet paper shortages, lockdowns and covid financial relief behind us and yet a serious rise in covid cases, what is a realistic way forward?

Socialist Alternative | ASHRAF ABDUL HALIM, KALESH GOVENDER

1. It’s very clear that the two major parties aren’t giving Australians what they desperately need. A once off $420 tax break that most low and middle income workers will receive at the end of this financial year, nor the $10 or so you might save on fuel due to the six month cut in fuel excise, is not nearly enough to make up for these drastic wage cuts that the country’s population is facing. This is a government that has presided over the biggest fall in real wages in Australia in a generation. Before the pandemic, wages were flat. Now, they’re in free-fall. In 2021 inflation was 3.5 percent, while wages rose by just 2.3 percent. For a worker on an average income of $68,000, that represents a pay cut of $832. Labor promises a package for aged care that was desperately needed years ago but neither party is willing to assess the state of social welfare and turn it into something akin to a livable wage. Also a $250 once off payment is laughable and will be eaten up in a week for most people. Victorian Socialists want to tax the rich to pay for things workers and students will actually benefit from; funding climate action, increasing healthcare, education, and welfare spending as well as building more public housing. Tens of billions more could be raised by cutting areas like the bloated military budget, or the funding for private schools that the government is planning to increase by $2.6 billion over the forward estimates.

Make no mistake: both major parties advocate for more money for the bosses and Vic Socialists are the only ones putting people over profit.

2. Sri Lanka is experiencing economic crisis and intensified inequality.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and several of his family members in ministerial positions have been systemically stealing from public funds for years, and have implemented tax cuts that make the rich richer. Gotabaya is also a hard-line Sinhala Buddhist nationalist. His government are responsible for the abductions and torture of journalists and the ongoing oppression of the country’s Tamil ethnic minority.

Successive Australian governments have maintained ties with the racist Sri Lankan government, defending it against charges of war crimes.

Meanwhile, the working class in Sri Lanka face extreme shortages of food and fuel, and power outages of up to 13 hours. The public hospital system is on the verge of collapse owing to a scarcity of medicine and power. Thousands have taken to the streets calling not just for the removal of the Rajapaksas, but for widespread change with some pushing to abolish the executive presidency altogether. They want more power in the hands of people. The current protests show the potential for a united struggle of ordinary Sinhalese and Tamil people against the common oppressor. The solution must involve a massive redistribution of wealth, starting with the obscene riches of the ruling class and the billions spent on the oppressive military presence in the predominantly Tamil north-east.

Greens Club | BUSBY CAVANAGH, CHAS DAVIS, ADIAN CARLING

3. The very idea that the worlds’ governments think the age of COVID is behind us is outrageous. It only further proves that we cannot expect anything from the bosses, the bureaucrats and the rest of the ruling class to care about the rest of us on this planet. The answer lies in the working class. The essential workers that are essential for society’s function.

Workers need to push back and we can see that in the nurse’s strike in NSW for secure a pay increase, shift-by-shift staffing ratios, and proper COVID-19 compensation. A strike that was called ‘ a risk to public health and safety’ by the Industrial Relations Commission in the face of the government having a letit-rip COVID policy and freezing nurse wages. Or the Amazon Labor Union in the US advocating against the company’s disastrous safety policies, high turnover rates and insane union busting efforts.

It’s the workers who make everything in the world possible and we should demand that we get what we deserve.

1. Our key takeaway from this latest federal budget is that we simply cannot get rid of this rotten government soon enough. This budget is barefaced banditry, aimed at robbing the youth of their future. More than $37,000,000,000 for oil, gas, and coal while spending on climate action takes a cut of 30%? Y’know, twenty-eight gas companies made away like crooks with profits of $55,000,000,000 last year. Know how much they paid in tax? Zero. And our federal government wants to give $37,000,000,000 more of YOUR money to their planet-wrecking industries! How’s that for a sick joke? No attempts to tackle the

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housing affordability crisis, no attempts to address the cost-of-living crisis, and a big slap in the face to victims of flooding and bushfires by co-sponsoring 114 new coal and gas projects with Labor. There is nothing in this budget to combat our growing inequality issue - on the contrary, while low-income earners get a one-off payment of $420, the wealthiest billionaires get a nice and hefty tax cut. How’s that for addressing the cost-of-living crisis? Make the rich richer and the rest of us can go get fucked. Barf. The Greens want to start a clean energy revolution with a renewable energy goal of 700%, enough to export our clean energy, offset the effects of immediately canning those 114 planned coal and gas projects, and start to atone for the climate crimes of the destructive big businesses that we allowed to spread their rot both nationally and internationally. The Greens want to build over a million affordable and high-quality houses so we can end homelessness and slash housing waitlists while also giving us youth a viable pathway to home ownership. We can address the cost-of-living crisis by hammering the billionaires and the corporations and making them pay their fair share. Adam Bandt said it best when he called this a “budget of bribes”. We demand better.

2. Coming to power in 2019, Sri Lankans are now paying the price of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government’s policies of corporate tax cuts and a ban on fertiliser imports reducing the productivity of their agriculture sector and requiring food to be imported at higher costs. However, Sri Lanka’s tourism-reliant economy has also been impacted by the dual disasters of, first, the 2019 easter bombings of luxury hotels and, secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic. Risking a default on its foreign debt, Rajapaksa’s government is pursuing potential debt restructuring and an immediate IMF bailout. However, likely conditional on a deflationary fiscal policy, austerity will only further exacerbate the suffering of Sri Lankans

and limit their economic growth. Whatever the outcome of these negotiations, despite the mismanagement and misfortunes of the Sri Lankan economy, any resulting mass devastation of human life will ultimately have been preventable if other nations only give what they can to provide for the needs of others.

3. I don’t see why our approach to covid recovery should be limited to bandaid fixes aimed at patching the turmoil of the past couple of years when we could use it to greatly improve the lives of many Australians and pull many more from precarious living conditions. A recovery plan that doesn’t put the well-being of regular people first is barely worth pursuing. Thankfully for us, a jobs and income guarantee and major infrastructure investment not only achieve the goals outlined above for average Australians but are also proven to be excellent stimulants to the wider economy.

Guaranteeing workers long-term, stable, and dignifying jobs not only allows those who have lost their job due to covid economic hardships a stable income but it can also give workers far more leverage when seeking jobs outside this scheme, leading to an overall more equitable job market for all Australians. Expanding renewable energy and public infrastructure, while a proven boon to any economy, is also an example of where guaranteed jobs might be allocated.

Both of these schemes will act to future-proof the Australian economy against further crises.

Sounds good, but how are we going to pay for it? With wealth inequality increasing over the span of the pandemic, reclaiming this stolen wealth using a progressive income tax for the top bracket would be a good start.

Suffering months of food, fuel, and medicine shortages, the economic and political crisis in Sri Lanka has finally boiled over with thousands filling the streets of its capital Colombo with cries of anti-government slogans. All-time high inflation has affected all facets of people’s lives, pushing hospitals to the verge of collapse as medicines run low and causing schools to cancel exams because the government can’t afford the paper that they are printed on. With warnings that starvation could be imminent for the nation of 22 million people will rightfully ask how this could be happening.

Labor Club| STEPH MADIGAN

1. This budget has one central objective: the re-election of the Morrison government. Over half of the infrastructure funding ($3.4bn) is devoted to marginal seats, while the highly touted welfare payments are one-offs. In fact, the Budget papers stated openly that the government won’t lift a finger to counteract inflationary pressures. Areas where Morrison does deepen spending, such as domestic violence prevention, see the valid concerns of minorities being steamrolled in order to create an edifice of progress. At least the government is finally investigating war crimes in Afghanistan…until you read on and realise it’s also the most secretive budget ever produced, with the term “not for publication” appearing a whopping 384 times.

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2. Sri Lanka is verging on collapse, with deaths from pharmaceutical shortages expected to exceed COVID deaths. A lack of tourism revenue has left Sri Lanka struggling to service its $51bn foreign debt, while government corruption squanders the remaining funds. The country is calling for about $3bn in external assistance. Morrison spent that amount on tanks last year—surely AUKUS can chip in. Commentators also blame last year’s ban on chemical fertiliser, which implies that western countries, seemingly obsessed with clean eating, aren’t putting their money where their mouths are.

3. Australia is suffering from COVID amnesia. As public health emergencies recede, societies tend to quickly forget their experiences, and fail to prepare for future challenges.

This is especially prescient, as new diseases are emerging at a higher rate and spreading faster. However it seems like every month “Is this the Final Wave?” op-eds are still being trotted out. By viewing our healthcare system as a drain on development, there’s no extra-surge capacity. We will never be prepared unless we discard our overly optimistic mindset that is incapable of processing either the past or future.

Taylor Westmacott, Liberal Party Member (Liberal Club failed to respond)

1. The LNP’s focus in the Federal Budget spans across five clear domains: Defence spending; investment into training and trade skills, alongside key employer incentives to hire these apprentices; tax-cuts for highto middle-income earners, for small businesses and sole traders; the development of regional economies, by way of transport infrastructure, telecommunications, and dam and water projects; first-home buyer incentives, via reinvestment into the Home Guarantee Scheme and NHFIC; and environmental damage mitigation, with large funding schemes directly targeting the Great Barrier Reef, Antarctica, and the rehabilitation of the koalas species.

2. Sri Lanka’s economic upturn was largely premised upon humanitarian aid (in the wake of 2004’s tsunami), the sharp rise of tourism (which grew exceptionally and consistently from 2009 onwards, with the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War), and the intrinsic growths of industry which occur as one maps into the global economy. Alongside stifled global trade during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fuel crisis—brought upon by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—has been devastating for Sri Lanka. Noting Sri Lanka’s economic relations with Japan, I believe The Quad has, or may soon have, genuine humanitarian obligations. In regards to the protesters’ foremost demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for claims of nepotism and defrauding the public—I personally ally.

3. Toilet paper shortages did not occur. Lockdowns cannot be so surely put behind us. A serious way forward can only begin via committed continuation of vaccine policy, mask mandates, and—in the event of sufficient loss of life—lockdowns, domestic and otherwise. The question, then, is the finding the right intensity in vaccine/mask policy, maybe defining what ‘sufficient loss of life’ might look like – something every politician seems afraid to do. Endemic is a buzzword; COVID-19 is far from finished.

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HABIBAH’S PICK: Vikings “Action movies/blood and gore are not really my thing so I’m pretty surprised how much I loved this show. It’s an intense and fascinating mix of history, fantasy and family drama mixed into a really good story of self discovery AND land ‘discovery’, voyages, paganism vs religion, violence vs peace and love. The cinematography was captivating and the acting was *chefs kiss. I’m basically a true vikings fan and this is the time era I would travel back to if I could.”

JENNY’S PICK: Peep Show

CHANEL’S PICK: IT Crowd

“Shot entirely in first-person POV, Peep Show follows the chaotic (and seriously sad) lives of two flatmates. It’s probably the funniest shit I’ve ever seen. I’ve probably rewatched this one like 5 times now - it’s dangerously bingeable. A good show to put on when you just want to unwind and have a good time.”

“A bloody fantastic British comedy.

I often rewatch the IT Crowd when I am sad or need a pick me up. The IT Crowd recounts the awkward day-to-day office dynamics of the IT department, involving the hilarious shenanigans of characters Maurice Moss, Roy Trenneman and Jen Barber.”

GRACE’S PICK: Maid TW: Domestic Violence & Abuse. “The show is about Alex (our

protagonist) who flees with her young daughter Maddie, from an abusive relationship and is left to navigate the broken system that many domestic violence victims / survivors face when seeking help. It highlights the cycle of abuse, the varying nature of domestic violence (emphasising that emotional abuse is ‘real abuse’), the financial and mental health toll of the experience and also the joy in eventually finding hope and freedom again.

The show struck a chord with me - it was gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and unbearably realistic. A piece of dialogue from the first episode that sat with me was Alex’s initial invalidation of her own experience, when asked why she wouldn’t report her abuse…‘And say what? That he didn’t hit me?’. A feeling many victims of such abuse initially wrestle with when recognising their own experience. Another stand-out quote (and my final before spoiling the wonderful series) is ‘Before they bite, they bark. Before they hit you, they hit near you.’”

If this has raised anything for you then know you can reach out to 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

editors’ picks

tv series recommendations

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econ-dit Words by Jess Marnie

Have you ever asked for a pay rise?

The answer is likely no, and neither have I. After all, what bargaining power might a student have to bring to the table in such a discussion?

You may be interested to know that wage growth, the rate at which wages increase, has been extremely slow in Australia for several years. With inflation picking up around the globe, the cost of living is going up. Many are anticipating an increase in wages. So, should we expect to see our pay go up any time soon? As always, it depends.

If low unemployment manifests as an increase in worker’s bargaining power, then perhaps, but while structural fixtures that dampen wage growth remain in place, it may be less than you were hoping.

Why are wage increases important?

We are beginning to see prices rise with inflation heading towards the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target rate of between 2 and 3 percent. Without wages growing with them, Australians will suffer a loss of purchasing power. This means for the same hours worked, the amount of goods (groceries, fuel, hydro flasks etc) that you can purchase, will decrease. This is particularly bad news for those with a mortgage, as it will become harder for them to pay off their loans.

In aggregate terms, this leads to a slowdown of household consumption.

This in turn has a dampening effect on economic growth and reduces our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). You 18

might choose to skip out on nice cocktails and new shoes to pay the bills, for others it might mean choosing between food and heating.

With an election looming, you have likely heard politicians and journalists talk about Australia’s unemployment rate. Economists would probably tell you that this is a headline figure with limited use for understanding the state of the economy, and they would be right. Nevertheless, it drives much of the economic debate in the political sphere. A lower unemployment rate is of course preferable. It currently stands at 4%, the lowest levels in 13 years. Broadly speaking, we are seeing a tightening of the labour market.

Put simply, there is a smaller pool of unemployed workers looking for jobs.

First year principles of economics would tell us that as demand exceeds supply, prices are expected to rise.

Using this logic, one might think lower unemployment may lead to increased wages (as the price of labour goes up).

This is certainly the thought process of our nation’s leaders at present.

However, the tale of wages is one of twists, turns and external forces of which simple demand and supply models are poorly abridged versions.

Australia’s wage growth has been ‘stagnating’ since 2013. Granted, this period has been a lull for the economy as a whole, following the end of the mining boom and of course the pandemic. However, there are other

A Tale for the Wages

factors at play, largely to do with ‘bargaining power’ and who holds it.

First of all, caps places on public sector wages have dampened aggregate wage growth as seen in the Wage Price Index (WPI). Historically, public sector wages have bolstered WPI, carrying private sector wages with them. This is because public sector wage growth spills over into the private sector.

Employers would struggle to attract workers if they did not pay at or above public sector wages, thus, wages rise across the board. So, by introducing these wage caps, there is far less incentive for private firms to increase wages. Hence, we see the dampening effect linger over the past 9 years.

Another potential factor is the erosion of unions. Unions play an important role in facilitating ‘collective bargaining’ for workers, this includes wages but also working conditions and leave entitlements. Think of this as strength in numbers. If you go and ask for a pay-rise, you’re unlikely to get it, but if you and your co-workers ask together, then you might have a chance. Union membership has been on a steady decline in Australia for decades, pairing this with increased regulation has seen instances of collective bargaining fall. Workers have been left with minimal pay increases, with no one to go in, to bat for them.

being paid to workers, from 58% in the 1980s to 47% in recent years.

Reflecting an increase in the corporate share and stagnation in incomes. All the more reason to tax the rich right?

A debate for another day perhaps.

Of course, other elements could be and would be at play, the effects of automation, as well as a shift towards global supply chains could well be impacting employee’s bargaining power. One thing for sure is that one off cash payments and cuts to the fuel excise are not sustainable nor effective ways to ease cost of living pressures.

Steadily growing wages however, are.

We can hope that upwards pressure on wages from unemployment will see wage rises in the coming months and years to keep up with inflation.

Without sufficient bargaining power in the hands of workers the path ahead is unclear.

It is worth noting that all of this has coincided with a reduction in the share of overall Gross Domestic Product 19

sustain abili-dit Words by Karim Hassan

Upon reading March’s Sustainabili-Dit article, I found myself rather disappointed by the displayed lack of understanding of how a plant-based diet and environmentalism are strongly correlated. Although they mention the good of it, they seem to completely disregard that in the second half of the article. I felt conflicted as though they were to say that there is no correct answer.

But upon further inspection I found some points that were misleading. So, I will be addressing these points. This is not to say that I disliked the entire article, in fact I agreed with many of their points not related to veganism. However, I would like to set the record straight that veganism is without a doubt the best way to decrease your environmental footprint as far as diets go.

Even though veganism primarily stands on the moral stance against the exploitation of animals, for the purpose of this article, only the sustainable and environmental aspects will be discussed.

The first issue I had was when they said ‘When [fruit and vegetables] are transported by air, they can contribute more to emissions per kilogram than poultry meat’. This seemed like a valid argument until I found that air travel takes up only 0.16% of total food transport, whereas 58.97% is transported by sea (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). As well as that, transport only makes up for a miniscule number of emissions. Most emissions come from deforestation, machinery, manure, and fertilizers. Needless to say, the animal industry contributes to the vast majority of these areas.

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The next point I had a problem with was when they mentioned ‘The horrors of mushrooms, avocados and almonds’. I was concerned about this so-called horror, but was relieved to find through research that mushrooms require relatively miniscule amounts of water and farmland to grow. Not to mention they contain a higher protein to emissions ratio than any meat product. In fact, researchers claim that ‘mushrooms could be considered one of the most sustainably produced foods in the United States’ (Jurgensmeyer, et. al, 2021).

After intensive research I found nothing about mushrooms or avocados that was concerning enough to mention, especially in comparison to the animal industry. However, I did find that almonds take about ten thousand litres of water per kilogram (Fulton, 2019), which was troubling because that’s almost as much water as one kilogram of lamb requires.

Other environmental impacts: Despite my inability to display it, I have gathered information and made an excel spreadsheet depicting CO2 emissions, water usage, farmland, and protein per kilogram of various vegan and non-vegan food items.

The results showed that the plant-based options such as tofu, avocados, almonds and especially mushrooms were significantly more efficient in terms of emissions than meats, especially beef (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). The vegan items had an astronomically smaller environmental impact per kilogram of protein than the animal products. That’s not to mention that the plant-based foods have a greater abundance in other nutrients that are not as concentrated in meats. Considering fibres, healthy fats, and other nutrients, the

Clearing the Air results only grow more impressive. Not only will a worldwide vegan diet reduce one’s carbon footprint by 73%, but it will also save lots of resources such as water and farmland.

These resources, if utilised to pursue plantbased farming, could produce enough food to not only ‘fight against world hunger in new ways’ (Chalmers, 2021), but to also begin investing more heavily in biodegradable plastics which can play a pivotal role in living more sustainably. Now it’s obvious that solving world hunger is more of an issue of distribution of food rather than the supply of it (Chalmers, 2021), however, there’s no denying that repurposing a draining and inefficient use of resources is better for everyone.

Other ways to eat sustainable: Support local small businesses, no unnecessary processing, no sketchy cheap shortcuts, no intent fuelled by greed. It may be less convenient because you like your lettuce prewashed and prepacked, but is it worth choosing a vegetable packed in plastic packaging? Further, it is also worth noting that there are very few small businesses working with meat production, especially when compared to the crop farming industry. And while transport has a relatively insignificant contribution to emissions when compared to any other factor, shopping with local small businesses is still an instance of where a little can go a long way. It’s always better for the environment to go vegan or at least significantly reduce your meat and dairy consumption, as it is proven to be ‘the single biggest way to reduce your impact on earth’.

(Carrington, 2018). To clarify, beef makes up for 2% of total calories consumed, yet takes up almost 60% of the total farming space (Qualman, 2018).

People have a dangerous habit that involves debating, arguing, fighting, and even spreading misinformation about veganism even though it has been proven time and time again to be the way to go. The reason why veganism faces such attacks is often because people would rather do what they’re used to than do the right thing. This inadvertently causes too much uncertainty and mixed messages that only makes progression slower. This has been

seen a lot when it comes to bigotry, masks/ vaccines, and even flat earthers cherry picking sources or resorting to strawman arguments.

Now I’m sure that you’re probably disappointed to read that your least favourite diet is the most eco-friendly and sustainable option out there.

However, keep in mind that there’s no need to rush into anything (technically there is but that’s got to do with more than just diets). You could just take it one step at a time, choosing plant-based options whenever you get the chance, and keeping the environmentally straining options as an occasional cheat day.

Or even cutting off the most unsustainable meats but having others. For example, poultry only contributes to 10% of the emissions that beef does. So, cutting off beef and lamb will make more of a difference than you may think.

Some people seem to think that just because certain actions you do are not as promising as you would have hoped, that they are then not worth doing. I disagree. I think every gesture, as small as it is, would be the better choice than contributing to the problem. . . . . . . . . .

References

https://ourworldindata.org/carbon-footprint-foodmethane https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/land-use-per-kgpoore https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eatinglocal https://sentientmedia.org/could-veganism-end-worldhunger/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S1470160X17308592 https://www.mushroomcouncil.org/all-aboutmushrooms/sustainability/ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/ may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggestway-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth https://www.globalagriculture.org/ fileadmin/files/weltagrarbericht/

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Samuel Riley

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

WORDS BY MAXIM BUCKLEY One thing that honours has taught me is that science is a field full of weird and wonderful things. I completed my undergrad with the medical faculty and then decided that my honours would best be completed with the science faculty.

Don’t ask me why. The medical faculty is fairly focused: science for the betterment of human health.

In a sense the science faculty has a similar idea, but it’s far broader. I met Sam at a faculty tea and cake day, in between stuffing our faces with free pastries, tarts, and doughnuts, we discussed our projects.

Sam’s project really blew me away because he was the first person, I’d met who wasn’t directly working on a pathogen of some description, which in retrospect is quite funny because that seems to be a good portion of the building.

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Sam is from England’s Midlands and grew up in Stoke-on-Trent. After completing his undergrad at nearby University of Nottingham, Sam decided to complete a PhD, specifically a joint PhD with the University of Adelaide. So, while Sam is still a student at Nottingham, he has spent a good portion of his PhD at Adelaide, two and a half years in fact. “In retrospect I’m glad. I was originally going to do another year in the UK but with the pandemic and what my project is on, staying her just made sense”. These programs are available to University of Adelaide students too and Sam highly recommends anyone considering a PhD consider one of these programs.

“So essentially the project is based on global food security. Global populations are getting larger, so we need more protein to feed the world. Animal protein isn’t

very efficient so we’re looking into plant-based options”. In essence, Sam’s project is on common vetch, a plant that’s very similar physiologically to lentils but is incredibly protein rich and drought tolerant, allegedly able to survive up to a month without water.

The catch? It produces a very potent neurotoxin called gamma-glytamylbeta-cyanoalanine (GGBC for short) that kills human model neuronal cells and primary mouse neuronal cells with great efficiency. GGBC’s precursor, betacyanoalanine (BC) is actually present in all plants and becomes toxic to them at high concentrations. Vetch, unlike other plants, decides to turn this BC into the neurotoxin GGBC and store it. “You can just boil the stuff away, but unfortunately that kind of defeats the purpose. If you have this really nutritious thing and then you boil it then it’s not as nutritious and you’ve just wasted your time” so Sam’s project is looking into other methods of removing this toxin. He also needs to find out what it tastes like, but we’ll get into that later.

So rather than boiling, Sam is looking at fermentation. Specifically, Japanese nattō, and Indonesian tempeh. “We actually just went down to Chinatown and got some natto, isolated the bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) and got on with the fermentation”. For those who haven’t tried natto before, it does look quite unappetising. Essentially, the soybeans when fermented with B. subtilis take on a pungent cheese smell and produces these sticky strands. It does look a little bit like slime, but I assure you it is quite delicious.

“I actually haven’t brought myself to try natto yet, but I really don’t have any excuse at this point”. The other method, tempeh, I’m not so keen on. “You basically make a cooked block of condensed seed, you wrap it in banana leaves or something similar, and then it’s naturally fermented by the fungi Rhizopus oligosporus or

Rhizopus oryzae”. Apparently, the tempeh method works extremely well, it does a great job of getting rid of the neurotoxin but also makes the product really digestible. “Fermentation does great things for nutritional content in general.

When you have these really long chains of sugars which are quite difficult for us to break down, if you let something else like a bacteria or fungus do the work, then you suddenly have a stack of available nutrients”. Unfortunately, Sam doesn’t know yet how these processes affect the neurotoxin, but work will be done to figure that out eventually.

But how do you find out what a neurotoxin tastes like? For that, you need an electronic tongue. “So basically, you make you sample up, put it in some water, and then you have two probes that go into the water and these test the electrical charge between them. If it’s really salty, you get a certain charge. So, we can test salty, sweet, umami, just about anything.

It’s a really cool piece of kit”. Sam has a library of foods with known descriptions, so he compares the electrical charge of GGBC to the library and can approximate the taste.

When asked what’s next, the future becomes less clear. “I’m heading back to England soon. I haven’t been back in over two years. I want to see my partner and my family. Beyond that it’s a bit up in the air.

The opportunities are seemingly endless for food science”. Sam also hopes to continue and eventually finish the Heysen Trail, something he’s been chipping away at over many weekends.

Systematic Review is an ongoing series that I hope will showcase some research from each faculty in a number of disciplines. If you’re keen on having your research featured, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at maxim. buckley@adelaide.edu.au

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CLUB SPOTLIGHT CLUB SPOTLIGHT

TEA CLUB

Answers by Caitlin Battye, President

WHAT IS YOUR CLUB ABOUT? Tea Club is about celebrating and enjoying tea, and about appreciating and learning about different tea histories and tea cultures. Tea has an incredible history to it, and is such an important part of so many different cultures each with their own kinds of teas and methods for drinking it. At Tea Club, we strive to highlight all of that while also providing a calming space where people can enjoy a chill chat over a nice beverage.

WHAT EVENTS DO YOU HOST?

WHAT MAKES TEA CLUB SPECIAL? Tea Club is special because I believe it’s such a perfect blend of things. It’s social and a great chance to chat with other people, and tea and tea ceremonies can also be incredibly meditative and great for mindfulness. There’s also a really fun educational side to it where you can be learning and experiencing amid the socialising.

FAVOURITE MEMORY FROM TEA CLUB?

Even though we had to hold off on hosting events We mostly host different for a while due to Covid, we’ve already had a few times tasting events. Most of our where people have brought teas to our events that hold events are currently focused some significance to them or that they grew up with. around the Chinese gongfu cha This has been super cool and interesting, and is ceremony, which involves lots of an experience I’ve really valued getting to consecutive brews of tea in small share with people. vessels to taste the changes in flavour across brews. We are also HOW currently working on securing CAN free tea ceremony classes for STUDENTS CONNECT WITH our members, and possibly YOU? doing some clay craft days CONTACT: We currently have Facebook and making our own Email - teaclub@ and Instagram pages, and we clubs.auu.org.au pots, cups, and tea can also be reached through pets.

Facebook - https://www. our club email address. facebook.com/UofATeaClub Definitely do reach out to us, we love chaiInsta - https://www. instagram.com/ tting to new tea uofateaclub/?hl=en friends!

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Centrists have no conviction. They have no principled values and they don’t fight for anything. They simply exist in a space where the only purpose to serve is a stepping stool for the advancement of oppression and injustice. Their entire foundation is based on upholding and defending jurisdictions, constitutions and laws written by, designed for and enforced by a side they claim not to accept. That is the side of fancy suited and booted, perfumed and groomed barbarians drenched to the elbows in blood they have spilt, blissfully tucked away in palaces far from diseases they have let run rampant and a planet that is dying from their crimes.

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Centrism. It’s that place where people go to when they don’t have enough virtue and passion to be on the Left but don’t have enough confidence and self-ownership to openly proclaim the Right.

I write this article, Covid19 positive, throat on fire, body aches, red hot fever and yet I can’t help but dwell on the role that Centrists have played in this horrific health crisis, but I am ahead of myself right now. My hatred and disrespect for Centrism goes beyond my being a victim of poor public health measures imposed by the Right and applauded by those who pretend to be on their ‘Centre’.

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Centrism is to base your politics in the centre of the Right and the Left.

It’s to cherry pick bits and pieces from both ideologies and claim you’ve struck a balance. But this is not how the world works and when it comes to social and economic problems, if you are not on the side of the solutions and on the side of equity then you are on the side of the criminals. If Centrists built up enough of a spine to pick an actual side in the conflicts and disasters rampaging our planet then so much oppression and mismanagement - such as the current health crisis in Australia - would not have been so easily spearheaded.

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Centrists, throughout history, have never achieved any social progression or won any movement that has shaped society for the better. Centrist polices have never improved anything on its own. It has always been grassroots anticapitalist and anti-imperialist groups fighting and advocating for change, that some Centrists have leeched onto through a minuscule and underwhelming level of participation and have taken credit for. Centrism is not about balance. It’s about a lack of strength and insight to do anything meaningful and good.

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The very existence of Centrism has enabled and endorsed enormous wealth to be accumulated through consistent and mass exploitation of workers’ labour, serious wage theft and the violent plundering of the earth’s resources to only The Labor party and members of Young to be concentrated and controlled Labor who proudly identify as centrist needs in the hands of the very few. Every to be called out. It’s time to just come out economic and social problem the as the back-room engine of the right-wing world faces is a disaster produced by monster machine.

Capitalism. The role of Centrism has been to be the wide open and warmly It’s important to know, when striving welcoming gateway for the tyrants/fascists, for justice and equity, we need to for the conservative politicians, for the consider Centrism as a serious corrupt corporations, for the climate criminals obstruction in the way of a better, onto the rest of the world. If the Right are safer, cleaner world. the parasites that attack and plague human welfare, then the Centrists are the poison in the immunity boost shot that Left-Wing politics offer.

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Realism is a Road to Ruin Words by James Wood & Nix Herriot The following piece was written in response to an article that has since been withdrawn.

Nonetheless, in the context of recent commentary regarding faculty mergers and the Student General Meeting, the authors still wish to refute arguments hostile to student activism.

Felix Eldridge’s article disparaging the recent Student General Meeting (SGM) posits an argument that, as student activists, we’ve heard a thousand times before. Whether it’s taking to the streets against injustice or raising our voices against conservative politicians, almost all student protests in history have been met with the predictable cry of “they’re only hurting their own cause” from people who never meaningfully supported us in the first place. The SGM, Felix claims, was an empty victory and students would be better served by the polite lobbying of pragmatic “leaders” (i.e. himself), not activist campaigns.

We are sceptical of Felix’s credentials of successfully mobilising students to fight for their rights. As a current Adelaide University Union (AUU) Board Director, he has not taken a firm stance against AUU President Oscar Ong’s attacks on student democracy. To our knowledge, he didn’t even attend the SGM. It is a shame that Felix would rather take to the pages of On Dit to deride the work of the anti-cuts campaign rather than contribute an alternative campaign strategy or lend practical support to student activism. His article amounts to little more than sneering from the sidelines.

The record of the student left could not be more different. We helped organise an energetic and determined campaign against faculty mergers, and staff cuts. Contrary to Felix’s suggestions, our campaign has had wins. These have been small, but hardly insignificant. How fantastic was saving both the permanent staff at the 26

Maths Learning Centre? This win needed activists who cut through management’s financial spin justifying job cuts (misleading claims backed up by the AUU Board). We saved these jobs by gathering almost 1000 petition signatures, doing grassroots campaign work, and acting in solidarity with staff. Another campaign win has been reducing the total number of staff cuts by over 25%, from an initial 130 down to 96. This is still 96 too many job losses, but it points to the power of protest.

Felix adopts a narrow measure of success for the Student General Meeting. The SGM was futile, he claims, because the motions passed were already binding on the SRC, but not on our opponents in the AUU and university management. This is symptomatic of a sad, bureaucratic perspective that views politics through the prism of rules, constitutions, and numbers. Felix’s argument is inaccurate even in a technical sense. The motions carried unanimously by over 150 students were not all already binding on the SRC. Many students used the meeting to shine a spotlight on their own concerns, passing important motions which are now SRC policy, including opposing wage theft, supporting divestment from fossil fuels, and defending the political independence of student media. The meeting offered a sense of collective action and a deeper understanding of the issues facing staff and students. It was a brilliant exercise in direct democracy that engaged many students in a way that simply doesn’t occur behind the secretive, closeddoor meetings of the AUU Board.

No doubt Vice-Chancellor Peter Høj hoped that faculty mergers would be greeted at best with sullen resignation. In this context, we believe it was a good thing that students demonstrated their widespread opposition to cuts. Even though the SGM did not stop the mergers, a vocal campaign has helped put students in a

A Response to Felix Eldridge stronger position to combat future attacks such as academic staff cuts. The lesson, we think, is that next time we have to take things even further, up the ante, and wage an ongoing fight against the corporate university. Felix’s advice would see our protests become timid, ineffective, and easy to ignore.

Victories of the student movement have always been won not by individual pragmatists, but by mass mobilisations.

Far from being counterproductive, student protests – most of them much more “aggressive” and “divisive” than the SGM – have long disrupted the status quo and sparked social change. From international students risking deportation to fight Labor’s introduction of full fees during the 1980s, to Adelaide Uni students calling for gay liberation in the pages of the student press, our movement has always been defiant, flamboyant, and championed participatory democracy.

Despite what Felix claims, we don’t have to go back to the halcyon days of the antiVietnam War era to find students willing to challenge injustice. In 2016, previous faculty mergers at Adelaide Uni were defeated by large student assemblies, protests, and staff actions condemning the Vice-Chancellor.

In 2014, when Prime Minister Tony Abbott tried to deregulate university fees, students were told to be realistic, to lobby politicians, and vote in a Labor government. Luckily, we didn’t listen. In a national campaign of protest, students put the issue of education on the political agenda and ultimately defeated Abbott’s attacks. On broader issues of social justice, recent student-led protests have been central to preventing the bigoted Religious Discrimination Bill and freeing refugees from onshore detention centres.

The lesson? Protest works. It’s one of the most important weapons we have.

weakened students’ power and left student activism at a historic low. Today, student unionism is equated with free breakfasts and apolitical service provision rather than any kind of challenge to political conservatism.

Yet, despite these limitations, activism continues to be a motor of change. There’s much worth fighting for and it’s important to get involved. Our quality of education is being eroded by both a money-hungry university administration and the “pragmatic” student bureaucracy that claims to represent us.

Taking action, in whatever shape or form is possible at present, is essential to turning the tide against the corporate university and generating the kind of confidence needed to win.

Thankfully, students fighting against war and injustice during the 1960s didn’t simply accept the stultifying realities of the 1950s, with its White Australia Policy, sexism, and right-wing authoritarianism. Today, Felix’s “realist” strategy is a road to ruin. It accepts the degree factory as a fait accompli and the present state of society as simply unchangeable. It’s a self-defeating pessimism that diminishes students’ expectations about what’s acceptable in society and our ability to win change. If the option of victory is foreclosed from the outset, then there is zero chance of success.

The Welsh socialist Raymond Williams once implored activists to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing. To do this, we need much more radical activism of the kind of the Student General Meeting, not less.

We sincerely hope we find it.

None of this means that we’re blind to the uphill battle our campaigns face. Policies such as Voluntary Student Unionism have 27

ACCESSI -BILITY AT THE SGM OR

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ZOOM Words by Alexandra Sudlow-Haylett

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On the 24th of March the Student Representative Council (SRC) held a student general meeting to oppose cuts to the University. Only two days prior, the SRC announced a Zoom option for ‘health and accessibility reasons’. A hastily organised and concurrent Zoom meeting ended up hosting more than 40 attendees, including the only member of staff to speak. I spoke to several individuals who revealed their reasons to attend the Zoom SGM, including those with ill health; work commitments; study pressure; disability and accessibility concerns; and of course, concerns about COVID exposure. So why was a hybrid SGM such an afterthought to the organisers? It may not surprise you that although the SRC needed 150 registered attendees to reach quorum, the Zoom option was not only a last-minute addition, it almost didn’t happen at all.

As a registered attendee at the SGM and a committee member at the Disability, Illness and Divergence Association (DIDA), I watched the hosts fumble with the concurrent Zoom meeting, clearly unaware of common accessibility functions. Our online host had clearly been given very little guidance, posting motions in the chat but not engaging unless there were technical issues.

We voted ‘YES’ on motions in the chat box, only to be told by the in-person host to “raise your digital hand” with barely enough time to lower it before ‘NO’ votes were counted. Speakers were hard to hear, an issue that became much worse after technical difficulties.

Unanimous agreement also supposedly occurred on all motions without clear acknowledgement of our votes. There were no captions, and no recording was made. Is this a democratic process?

As it turns out, Zoom can caption meetings at the click of a button. It also has polling functionality, so it would have been possible to communicate vote results quickly and clearly between hosts. Recording is also possible, perhaps for the use of verifying votes or allowing others to watch the proceedings in their own time. Pre-recording Zoom speakers could have lessened technical issues, and accessibility feedback on the SGM itself could have been gathered through a survey. Even in the failure of these features, other software can fill in the blanks. In failing to seek and even rejecting genuine collaboration, the SRC came up with a rushed solution to a problem they struggle to acknowledge: Accessibility.

At DIDA, we’ve gotten used to approaching all sorts of people to ask them to improve accessibility standards and we often seek suggestions on how to improve our own events. We’ve also gotten used to the responses we usually get. These run the gamut from hesitation and uncertainty to noncommittal disinterest, even outright hostility. Accessibility standards aren’t new, nor are the myriad of guides to them. Accessibility functions are built into the software we use at university, and they’re associated with standards that are becoming the norm at other universities and workplaces, thanks to disability advocates around the country.

They would be the first to tell you that accessibility standards have the pleasant side-effect of improving life for everyone, not just for disabled people. We can all imagine how powerful a full hybrid option could be for an SGM dedicated to protest. There is potential for other accessible events to follow suit, but first, the SRC must acknowledge the elephant in the Zoom.

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In a clear warning for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, South Australian voters took to the polls and ousted Steven Marshall’s government on 19 March.

The Liberal Party has been returned to the political wilderness after just one term in office.

“I want to lead a modern Labor government with the best traditions of getting the balance right between capital and labour,” Peter Malinauskas told reporters as he was sworn in as the new Labor Premier of South Australia.

Labor’s triumph owes much to this balancing act of class. On the one hand, Malinauskas’s political fortunes were bolstered by a middle class increasingly agitated by Covid restrictions.

Marshall struggled to appease the Liberals’ core constituency – small business, and particularly hospitality, owners desperate to keep their profits flowing and the economy open. The pandemic, however, has simultaneously undermined embedded belief in economic restraint. Malinauskas is undeniably skilled at sensing this new public mood. Widespread support for Labor’s moderately progressive spending agenda, including reversing the privatisation of Adelaide’s public transport, suggests a strongly social democratic consciousness among the working population.

Words by Nix Herriot

Balancing

After being sworn in as premier, Malinauskas marched up North Terrace to take selfies with staff at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. It was a symbolic gesture, but one that echoed the strident focus on public health in Labor’s campaign. Patients waiting hours in hospital carparks and suffering delayed emergency responses had become a political scandal as unionised ambulance officers waged a high-profile campaign against the Liberals. In response, Labor has pledged hundreds of extra hospital beds and new paramedics, ambulance officers, nurses, and doctors.

These promises will come as a welcome relief for many frontline workers. But will Labor deliver? Malinauskas’ recent apology for the former Weatherill government’s privatisation of state forests hinted at his party’s record in office. To begin answering this question, it is useful to consider Labor’s recent history of governing at the state level.

In 2002, Labor swept to power after backlash against the Liberals’ privatisation of the Electricity Trust.

During his early years in office, premier Mike Rann enjoyed the highest popularity ratings of any state leader. But disillusionment soon set in as Labor, far from challenging neoliberalism, championed ‘publicprivate partnerships’ and implemented major budget cuts after the global financial crisis. Treasurer Kevin Foley oversaw the expansion of defence, mining and other destructive industries

Capital and Labour: Understanding the South Australian Election 30

while dismissing concerns about prison overcrowding with his infamous pledge to “rack ‘em, pack ‘em, and stack ‘em”.

By 2010, Rann had rebranded Labor as unambiguously pro-business, but at what cost? Popular support for Labor had eroded and Rann’s approval ratings plummeted to record lows. After union pressure, Rann was replaced in 2011. His successor, leader of Labor’s so-called ‘left’ faction, Jay Weatherill, talked like a progressive but walked the same path of privatisation and austerity. Weatherill (and Malinauskas himself during a stint as Health Minister) implemented a deeply unpopular neoliberal ‘transformation’ of SA Health, downgrading hospitals and significantly increasing ramping levels. Unsurprisingly, polling last year found that voters do not trust Labor to handle the health system any more than the Liberals.

The Rann and Weatherill Labor governments pushed punitive welfare measures and gutted public housing, created a situation where over 23,000 people languish on Housing Trust waiting lists. Malinauskas’ election pledge to build a mere 400 new public homes over four years is a mere echo of Liberal Party policy.

Interviewed in the Australian during his campaign, Malinauskas made no references to social justice but instead glamorised past Labor governments for creating a pro-market environment. He has vowed to be another “pro-business” premier. As a powerbroker from Labor’s Catholic right, his credentials are hardly in doubt. Malinauskas’ political savviness at appealing to business and workers alike owes much to his training as a right-wing machine man in the socially conservative shoppies

union. As state secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, Malinauskas negotiated to reduce the penalty rates of South Australian retail workers. Little wonder that captains of industry have offered glowing character references, including the hoteliers lobby which has been such an aggressive opponent of public health measures during the pandemic. From the vantage point of Adelaide’s corporate boardrooms, Labor is a trusted pair of hands.

For those of us seeking fundamental social change, there are few signs of hope in South Australian politics. Can Malinauskas’ middle-of-the-road, probusiness government meet the challenges of our times? The overlapping crises we face today – economic hardship, a persistent public health crisis, and the climate emergency – are caused by a profit-driven system. Labor offers no serious alternative. Indeed, Labor’s right-wing record is the logical outcome of any attempt to ‘balance’ labour and capital at a time when the political muscle of the labour movement remains weak.

Our side has always needed to fight, no matter who’s sitting in Parliament House. In 2010, Rann and Foley needed police escorts to enter their own party convention, such was the anger of protesting public sector workers. And it took a vocal and defiant movement, including protests of thousands, trade union action and alliances between conservationists and Aboriginal people, to defeat Weatherill’s proposed nuclear waste dump. Today, with Labor in the saddle again, ambulance officers, environmentalists and other community activists would regret quitting our campaigns just yet.

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I had to read this one for university, I’m not going to bullshit you. It had an ugly cover, with a man in speed dealer sunnies and an obscenely masculine vibe. I can’t lie and say I usually get rowdy over a 19 year old male protagonist either, they’re usually too horny, too greasy and too predatory (and I suppose none of those are inaccurate assumptions after reading the first page). This book, to put it most explicitly, I loved with my whole wogpussy. Words are mere placeholders here for the emotions that filled my heart when reading Loaded. I have never read a piece that describes the complexities of my own life in such dynamic detail. It is queer, it is wog, it is Australian, it is pure sex and violence and unapologetically authentic.

The narrative follows Ari around Melbourne for 24 hours, and it’s a 24 hours full of gay sex and cocaine and with a good soundtrack to match it. Ari is a facsimile apathetic with a vice for hard drugs and alcohol. Truly vulgar and a bit feral (in a good way, most of the time), this story isn’t necessarily for the faint hearted. Ari loves talking about his own piss, similar to how all men feel weirdly proud of their cock, but a level up from that. Secretion is featured like a public ritual, and when I say public, I genuinely mean it. I’ve never been a man, but this felt realistically close. Ari is also the straightest gay man i’ve ever encountered. He’s hyper masculine and likes his men the same, any ounce of femininity and he’s repulsed, which feels a bit misogynistic but there are some things your girl’s been taught to overlook. On top of all that he refuses to fall in love, as all emotionally unavailable machoistic wog boys do, and so his night becomes one

perpetual sexscapade trying to forget his feelings/totally-not-feelings for a certain white boy.

This book raises more questions than it really answers (which I prefer in all honesty, i’m not looking for a bible). Ari isn’t much of a preacher, he’s just trying to navigate being gay and wog in a world praying on his downfall. Our anticapitalist antihero is not much of an idol, but he encapsulates what it means to be from an immigrant family, drowning in the pressure of your family’s sacrifice and attempting to assert your own identity in a world that doesn’t like who you are. I don’t really know if Ari likes who he is either, nor does he know who he is. He claims to be not wog and he claims to not be gay, even though he certainly qualifies.

Yet, I think there’s something noble about being nothing at all. Why does Ari have to be anything?

Maybe that’s his excuse for excessive drug-taking and perpetual unemployment, but I’d rather think of it as an anarchist protest of capitalism and gentrification.

Christos Tsiolkas’

LOA DED LOADED Book Review

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Semen, spit, piss and all, Loaded really doesn’t disappoint. It’s hard to describe all the complex faucets of identity work going on in this book, but if you’ve ever struggled with knowing who you are - whether it be gay, straight, male, female, wog, ethnic or otherwise – this book has something for you. Even if you are none of these things, I think that this book is an eye-opener to another world you’ve never seen before, unless you often frequent grungy gay bars with a drag queen named Toula.

Words by Sienna Sulicich

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Prior to the pandemic, Australia was the third largest host of international students globally.

In 2019 the South Australian international education sector contributed $2.15 billion to the South Australian economy, larger than any other export of the state. Despite this significant contribution to Australia, there is a common perception that governments and universities simply use these students for their money without. The Morrison Government’s response during the pandemic was one example of this.

This treatment both revealed and exacerbated the vulnerable position international students have in Australian society.

Another more systemic aspect of this vulnerability is the experience international

students face when working in Australia and the rampant nature of wage theft. A 2017 report for the Fair Work Ombudsman noted that ‘international students in Australia are often underpaid and encounter other breaches of their workplace rights.’

This was brought to the forefront of public attention in South Australia last year with the horrible incident at Fun Tea on Gouger Street in which a young worker was physically assaulted while complaining about underpayment of wages.

The Fair Work Ombudsman later sued the Yuxuan Group for $186,895 in underpayments.

Paying significant amounts of money themselves to attract international students, universities as host institutions have a fundamental role to play in ensuring international students are supported during their time in Australia. In this sense universities have a duty of care to address systemic issues which cause harm to international students.

Growing momentum in society to stamp out the scourge of wage theft has sought to address this. The South Australian Parliament Legislative Council Select Committee on Wage Theft in South Australia produced its final report on 17

words by Edward Satchel

what universities owe

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a great deal about what society and governments can achieve. It also magnified significant rifts and wounds in our society. The experience of international students in Australia during the pandemic was one such rift: after spending significant money and setting aside years of their lives to study in Australia, Scott Morrison’s advice to these students was unsympathetic simply telling them ‘it’s time to make your way home.’

al students

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to internation

November 2021. This report made recommendations to address wage theft in South Australia and federally. Recommendation 33 of the report addressed the responsibilities universities hold: 33. Universities have an obligation to teach students about Australia’s industrial relation system and employee rights and responsibilities and should use University funded organisations such as Study Adelaide to fulfill this requirement.

In December 2021, the current University of Adelaide SRC called for the University and Study Adelaide to endorse Recommendation 33. To date this has not occurred, although the University administration has agreed to meet with representatives of the SRC to discuss this matter further.

The lack of a proactive response to the Select Committee on Wage Theft recommendation is disappointing.

Beyond endorsing the above, the university sector should be taking more action through mandatory classes during orientation on the Australian industrial relations system, public campaigns on campus reaffirming worker rights and remedies, and allowing trade unions in relevant sectors to provide educational material to international students on campus.

There appears concern amongst the tertiary education sector that having a strong and explicit position against wage theft of international students will lead to negative publicity and deter students from enrolling in Australia. This is fundamentally

wrong: the university sector should expressly commit to supporting programs that reduce wage theft.

This empowers student workers and makes them confident they will receive support from host institutions. Universities previously took similarly defensive positions to addressing sexual harassment and assault on campus worrying that active policies against harassment and assault would cause fear amongst prospective students because those policies would acknowledge that harassment occurs. The real impact of policies which seek to hide away from addressing systematic issues is that these systematic issues continue to happen and inevitably and are widely publicised after major incidents occur.

Steps to address international wage theft must also consider broader pressures international students face. Because of this, the SRC has also called for a review of the international student visa system and will request the University supports this review. A 2022 report of the Senate Economics Reference Committee noted ‘[a]n international student who fears that their employer will report they have worked more than the allowed 20 hours a week stands to lose their visa, enrolment, and the fees and study they might already have put into a degree.’

This fear leads to underreporting of employment law breaches.

International students bring huge amounts of money to the Australian economy and universities.

Universities can and must do better to support their international students. They owe it to them.

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Decriminalising Sex Work Words by Chanel Trezise The criminalisation of sex work facilitates unsafe working environments for sex workers as the fear of prosecution pushes them into precarious, dangerous situations while simultaneously depriving them of important opportunities and services.

Despite a societal shift in sex positivity and the popularisation of sex work online, our laws regarding sex work trail behind.

In 2003 New Zealand decriminalised sex work under the ‘Prostitution Reform Act’ (PRA 2003). Consequently, sex workers in New Zealand have the freedom to practise their jobs without fear of arrest.

Five years following the PRA, the Christchurch School of Medicine (CSM) concluded that 90% of sex workers reported the legislation improved their overall health and working conditions.

The Prostitution Law Review Committee also summarised that “The sex industry has not increased in size, and many of the social evils predicted by some who opposed the decriminalisation of the sex industry have not been experienced. On the whole, the PRA has been effective in achieving its purpose, and the Committee is confident that the vast majority of people involved in the sex industry are better off under the PRA than they were previously” (Crichton F 2015).

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Globally, however, legal models of sex work differ. Aside from the criminalised model ratified in South Australia, countries like Norway demonstrate a comparatively harmful model. The ‘Nordic model’ criminalises the clientele of sex workers, effectively stripping them of demand. However, this model actually drives sex work underground, consequently destabilising business and forcing workers into vulnerable, precious situations.

Within the fully criminalised model, and the partially criminalised Nordic model, sex workers are at the mercy of police officers. This is as law enforcement must pry on sex worker clientele and consequently encroach on the safety and privacy of sex workers.

A 2016 Amnesty International Report regarding Norway’s sex industry provided evidence that many sex workers within Norway are “...targeted by police in multiple, intersecting ways; through public nuisance policing, anti-sex work and anti-trafficking operations and immigration enforcement, as a means to reduce and/or eradicate commercial sex., (The Human Cost Of ‘crushing’ The Market Criminalization Of Sex Work In Norway 2016). Further, Norway’s model pushes for the eviction of sex workers,

and the general destabilisation of their livelihood.

However, Norway’s model does not effectively address the exploitation of sex workers because it does not change demand. Further, Norway’s model is harmful because it relies on the assumption that sex work and its clientele is exploitative, however, sex work is not inherently exploitative.

While individuals can be exploited in the sex industry, and to believe otherwise is incredibly naive, exploitation within the sex industry occurs because of the unsafe working conditions manufactured by the system. Unsafe working conditions occur within the sex industry because of poverty, gendered violence, human trafficking and law enforcement. Thus, labelling the sex industry as inherently exploitative and sex workers as victims ignores the bigger picture.

More often than not, the criminalisation and partial criminalisation of sex work (such as that of the Nordic model) is not done out of concern for women and sex workers. Rather, these models are imposed because of their ability to control and stigmatise sex workers due to traditionalist/conservative/religious norms.

Without addressing traditionalism, the stigmatisation around sex, and the common victimisation of women (who usually dominate the sex industry), we cannot appropriately approach sex work legislation. The belief that sex and the monetisation of sexual exchanges are dirty or exploitative is harmful. In actual fact, it is not sex work or sex that is exploitative, it is the system we live in that forces unsafe work environments and attributed stigma onto workers for capital.

be done through a change of the system, although that would absolutely help.

Rather, it is that the decriminalisation of sex work provides the best legal model for sex workers to function within a capitalist society because this gives them the autonomy to do what is best for themselves.

Consequently- If we want to actually address the exploitation of sex workers, we need to address the ugliness of the system which pushes individuals into precarious parts of the industry. Instead of villainising the transaction of labour which is sex work, we need to villainise the conditions which make those transactions unsafe.

References Crichton F 2015, Decriminalising sex work in New Zealand: its history and impact, Open Democracy, viewed 18 April 2022 <https:// www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-traffickingand-slavery/decriminalising-sex-work-in-newzealand-its-history-and-impact/> The Human Cost Of ‘crushing’ The Market Criminalization Of Sex Work In Norway 2016, Amnesty International, viewed 19 April 2022, <https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/ u p l o a d s / 2 017/ 0 4 /n o r way _ re p o r t _ - _ s ex _ workers_rights_-_embargoed_-_final.pdf> Prostitution Reform Act 2003 (New Zealand)

This is not to say, however, that the empowerment of sex workers can only 37

without disability inclusion, your activism is worthless.

Words by Caitlin Battye

Activism is hard - and I say that as someone who is very involved in political circles and does a lot of advocacy. It’s hard and draining work, both physically and mentally. This toll is heightened when you have a disability. I remember spending the first two and a half years of my degree utterly incapable of engaging with campus culture or getting involved with political movements. Even the concept of attending a protest was something I had to work up the capacity for, while also hoping I wouldn’t have any flareups of physical ailments on the day.

Fortunately, I am now at a place where I am able to comfortably engage a lot more - although I still have periods of time where pain stops me from attending an event, or where I’m in a near-constant state of panic and paranoia. This is something I thought would be understandable. People have their ups and downs, and recovery is a fickle thing, no big deal if you can’t attend or do absolutely everything. But in political circles, sometimes people’s passion for a cause can blind them to the people from vulnerable groups whose struggles are intrinsically linked to the system we’re fighting. The sad fact is that disability gets tragically 38

little empathy or attention in some activist circles, and drawing attention to how your disability impacts your capacity to engage in activism or the ways in which you can engage with activism is seen as “making excuses” or “lacking commitment”.

To me, this approach is fundamentally at odds with what the spirit of activism should be. Left-wing groups that view disability as something to overcome in the fight against capitalism are entirely missing the point, and are in fact upholding the same constraints against disabled people that were put in place by the very system they oppose.

Capitalism tries to guilt disabled people and force them to change to fit capitalistic ideas of productivity and value. Similarly, some circles try to insist that their method of activism is the only right and true way, and so disabled people must “overcome” their disability to fit the proper traditional ideas of productive, valuable, and effective activism. Rather than changing things so society fits our needs, we are the ones pressured to change to conform others’ notions of driving productivity, even in the fight for liberation. Yes, as socialists we recognise the root of society’s problems

stems from capitalism and from class structures, and that oppression and class cannot be separated - but it is equally important to recognise the different ways those structures interact with different groups and how oppression piles on, and to ensure we are fighting for and with all working and underclass folk.

The fact is that being a left-wing activist isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ endeavour, and your activism isn’t radical if it excludes left-wing disabled people. It isn’t at all difficult to consider ways your activism can be more inclusive, and it’s even less difficult to make the time and effort to ask disabled people about our needs and what would ensure our ability to participate. Activism doesn’t need to be a gruelling, punishing experience - it can be one of hope and enthusiasm and inclusivity. We need to rethink the ‘ground rules’ of how we, as left-wingers, approach activism.

Information and understanding about disability is more widespread than ever before, and we should be using that understanding along with the incredible technological growth we’ve seen to innovate and extend our activist efforts. It’s now extremely easy to cohost events both online and in-person, and to utilise free captioning options.

It would also be so incredibly easy to have silent protests and vigils for those with sensory issues, or have quieter spaces nearby a protest. Disabled people can also be included in efforts beyond simply on-the-ground protests.

We all have a variety of skills begging to be utilised. The opportunities are only as limited as your imagination and willpower.

To refuse to take such efforts signals to disabled people that we are not welcome in your left-wing spaces,

and that the future you’re fighting for is one where disabled people will continue to be subject to expectations of changing their disability to suit broader ideas of value. Rather than expecting disabled people to change the conditions of their disability to suit you, I would urge any left-wing organisers to contemplate how you can engage with disabled people to make your activist spaces more accessible and welcoming. Disabled people don’t expect every single event or campaign to be 100% accessible - we know everyone has different access needs that might, at times, be conflicting.

What we do expect, however, is basic decency and showing you are willing to consider us as people and as allies in the struggle for a better world.

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FUCK YOUR STUPOL FUCK YOUR STUPOL FUCK YOUR FUCK STUPOL FUCK YOUR STUPOL YOUR FUCK YOUR STUPOL STUPOL FUCK YOUR STUPOL ANONYMOUS

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There’s two reasons why this article must be anonymous. Two reasons that have challenged my decision to tell the truth and have it read, published and distributed. Two reasons that still at this very moment have me doubting my decision, and anticipating all the inevitable backlash and denial that this will receive.

The first, is to not establish any preliminary bias. You may know who I am and what I stand for. You may not. What I need to say does not apply to a singular faction on campus, but rather is a commentary on the wider culture. Revealing my own ideologies will sadly eliminate some of those who need to listen from reading on with an open mind, or believing my lived experiences.

The second, is I am afraid. The culture around this University has become so undeniably toxic that speaking out, saying the truth, and exposing the realities of what is going on is terrifying for my wellbeing. I am afraid of what my own friends and allies would say when I betray the systems they believe in.

If the wider student population was asked to visualise student politics, the same imageries would probably emerge. There would be a snapshot of campaigners begging for votes on election week, a few On Dit articles sporadically dotted throughout the year on Overheard, and that same picture of Oscar Ong in the red tartan shirt. Whilst the average student is distant from student politics, there is no denying that it is somewhat inescapable, and is intrinsically linked with campus culture.

For years, I have had a unique front row seat as the climate of student politics has escalated into an increasingly toxic cesspool, with no accountability, no oversight, and no morality on conduct. I have witnessed so much pain and declining mental health of fellow students as a direct result of the faces we see as our supposed leaders and representatives, from all factions. Student politics is a culture of normalised bullying, harassment, and corruption, that extends well beyond the boundaries of political scrutiny and healthy debate. It is limitless, and so inhumane that that I still struggle to believe that these are

the actions of tertiary educated adults, nay, the actions of anyone with a beating heart.

The big secret? Every group is equally as guilty and responsible for this same disgusting conduct.

As someone who has been inside the whole charade, here is my truth. I have seen candidates falsify accusations to shun other students from rightfully elected positions for sheer entertainment. I have seen candidates threaten physical violence against other students and wish death on their families.

I have seen candidates direct racist and homophobic slurs at their own campaigning peers with intent and aggression. I have seen candidates advocating for mental health awareness and then encouraging political opposition to attempt suicide in graphic detail, both publically and in private messages daily. I have been raped by a former stupol student, a man I trusted, and I am not the only survivor. I have seen the very men pleading on Overheard for students to attend women’s marches sexually assault women in the same week. This is the mere surface of the daily reality.

None of the above problems reflect the individual factions’ belief systems, or what the involved students originally signed up to advocate for. Instead, they reflect on a growing culture of escalating destructiveness, where baby steps of abominable behaviour without any accountability has become barbarism over time. We all lie on the political spectrum somewhere, and many of us have a quite distinctive view of what we believe to be right and wrong. Whatever we believe it to be, the imagery of evil is entirely blurred on this campus, and it has seeped into every single crevice.

UofA Counselling (non-emergency) which includes a specialist in sexual assault counselling North Terrace / Waite - +61 8313 5633 Roseworthy - +61 8313 7932 UofA’s Mental Health Triage (emergency) - 131 465 University Crisis Line: 1300 167 654 1800RESPECT - 1800 737 733 Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636 Lifeline – 13 11 14

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STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLBEING

What Messes With Your Head?

Glorifying the Grind Originally posted on 8 Apr 22

Words by Grace

We’re about halfway through the first semester and I’ve been hearing competitions of who’s getting the least amount of sleep start floating around campus.

University is a challenge and it can harder to conquer some times more than others. These last couple of weeks, I’ve been going to sleep later and later and waking up earlier and earlier. Despite having a big headache and my body feeling sluggish and unmotivated about my studies, part of me wants to say, ‘this feels good.’ I’ve been starting to use my body as an indicator of how hard I’m working.

When I share this with people, it’s like I want others to see how hard I’m working, even though what I’m truly saying is how burnt out I feel.

The more I do this, the more I subconsciously associate achievement with poor self-care and struggling mental health and before I know it, my motivation is at an all-time low. I think there is a fine line between pushing through the tough times and strengthening my perseverance, and then pushing myself too far to the point of mental exhaustion.

The mid-semester break is the perfect time to reset the body clock, detox from a caffeine overload and start the second half of the semester healthy and well-rested. While I cheer my peers on, I want to make sure I celebrate their success and hard work, not how much sleep they’ve lost. I don’t want my friends to feel as though the only way their effort is recognised is by sacrificing their physical and mental health.

Does someone you know come to mind? Perhaps yourself? It can take a bit of mental work and sometimes I need reminding, to glorify the good in self-care and not the detriment of the grind, not just for the sake of my friends’ health but for my own too. I want university to be time I fondly look back on, after all!

Read more: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/wellbeing/news/list/2022/04/01/ glorifying-the-grind

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Productive Morning Routine Originally posted on 13 Apr 22

Words by Taylor

There is a certain type of video that is always lurking on the YouTube home page.

It is the infamous ‘morning routine’, a perfectly stylised video which glorifies waking up at an early hour to achieve peak productivity.

You know the one. Opens with instrumental music and the title ‘productive morning routine’, all in lower case. Girl wakes up in her white sheeted double bed to make herself a smoothie, miraculously turning on her blender without waking anyone up. B-roll of the smoothie next to a minimalist bullet journal spread. She goes for a run clad in her sage green workout set and for some reason, it is light outside at 6am. With the least red face, she comes back from her run to complete her ten-step skincare routine, and only after writing down what she is grateful for, she is ready to start her day.

These videos often cop hate online for being considerably unrealistic. Sure, these videos are motivational in their own weird way, because we would love our days to start like this, but it does not really work with many of our lifestyles. They make mornings look like an exciting new start, when for most students, it is a chaotic rush before a busy day. Here I am, struggling to get out of bed at 6 when my cat loudly wakes me up, rushing to shower and get ready whilst I eat my bland piece of toast, and I am supposed to somehow find time to complete a gratitude log?

I am not dissing these videos because ideally, I wish my mornings looked this way too. It is more that for students who study and work, this is quite unobtainable.

But how can we make our mornings a little better?

For me, I have learnt the importance of planning my mornings the night before. It stops me from dwelling over my outfit in the morning, and means that I can pack my bag without forgetting something important. Also, I have been attempting to switch out my non-exciting piece of toast to cereal and fruit to make eating breakfast less of a chore. Most importantly, I am working on getting more sleep each night so that my mornings can be a tiny bit more productive.

With that in mind, I have come to terms with the fact that I prefer to exercise later in the day, I like to write my to-do lists on the bus because there is absolutely no time beforehand, and I will never, never say no to a sleep-in when I can. Don’t watch these videos and think your life must be that way. Rather, try and make your morning work more efficiently for you.

Read more: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/wellbeing/news/list/2022/04/08/ productive-morning-routine

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What to know about running for election in local government.

Words by Cody Davies All three of the tiers of Australian government are having their elections this year; the state and federal elections are huge and unmissable events, but the tier of government that gets the least attention is also the one that provides the most accessible path to making a difference in your local community. Local government, which has its next elections in November, is the only level of Australian government with non-compulsory voting and struggles with turnout. According to data from the Electoral Commission about the 2018 Council election results, the average rate of returned ballots across the state was just below 33%.

This is a shame in many ways – low turnout, especially from young people who are less likely to be invested in home-owner concerns such as Council rates, means that decisions about where to allocate funding aren’t made by everyone in the community.

Councils are making decisions on not just roads and footpaths but a range of local community assets that young people benefit from, including libraries, sports centres, pools and youth spaces.

A silver lining to the low rates of participation, however, is that you can create a solid base to become an Elected Member without having to resort to the direct conflict between candidates typical of State and Federal elections. Rather than bitterly competing for rusted-on existing votes, you can gain your vote by encouraging a few among that 66% percent of people who don’t usually pay attention to local government voting that someone does represent them this time.

What kind of time investment would this be?

Could I work or study alongside being on Council?

Being on the Council is not full-time work and is intended to be juggled with other work or study. In my Council, meetings don’t typically start any sooner than 6:30-7pm, for the purpose of not clashing with regular work hours, but you can check the schedule of your own Council on its official website if you are unsure.

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The level of time invested into Council is largely what you decide to make of it. If all you do is, say, attend the monthly Council meetings and join a couple of sub-committees you are interested in, you might find yourself having 2-3 official meetings per month, plus anything outside of the regular schedule that crops up, such as training workshops.

If you decide to throw yourself into joining several committees and community groups alongside attending a lot of events, it can certainly be nice for your community profile and your vote at the next election, but the only actual official attendance requirement of the role of Elected Member is that you attend the main Council meeting or provide an apology when you can’t.

Am I eligible to run?

If you are a citizen, eligible to vote, and living in that Council area, you can run. There are a few caveats to this, such as not being an employee of the same Council you are running for, but otherwise, it is a fairly simple process.

If you are in a Council with wards, it’s worth noting that you do not have to run in the same ward you live in (which you might want to consider if competition for spots is fiercer in some wards than in others) but it’s generally an advantage while campaigning to be able to show that you are a local who cares about local concerns.

What kind of pay do I get for it?

Councillor allowances depend on the size of the Council. Currently, the Elected Members of Adelaide City Council receive $27,854 per year (about $2300 per month) and it goes down from there – for example, at a mid-sized Council like the Town of Gawler, we receive $18,553 for the year. A full list of allowances is available on the Local Government Association’s website if you’re wondering where your own Council fits.

While Council isn’t full-time work, it is enough to give you the option of easing up on work hours or combining your Council allowance with Austudy/Youth Allowance for a financially stable four years while pursuing a Uni degree.

Council allowances do stack with Austudy, though, depending on how much you’re earning it may cut into the amount you get.

Overall, if you are interested in getting involved in the decision-making process of your local community but aren’t sure where to start, Council can be a good option. Even if you don’t succeed at the elections this November, you can lay the future groundwork for becoming a prominent member of your local community.

Cody Davies is a Bachelor of Arts student at the University of Adelaide and an Elected Member at the Town of Gawler. If you are interested in running for local office and would like to learn more, you can contact him at a1649058@adelaide.edu.au.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH JOSH ‘PRICEY’ PRICE FROM

THE CHATS THE CHATS

INTERVIEWED BY MAXIM BUCKLEY

Q1: You’ve had a pretty hectic couple of years, what has it been like?

I dunno, it’s been very busy. Very, ah, learnt a lot. Seen a bit of the world. Yeah.

Q2: Does it feel pretty surreal, considering you guys only finished school a couple of years ago?

I feel like I’m starting to get used to it now. Feel like I’m starting to get used to it a bit.

Did you guys finish in 2016 or 2017?

2016.

Been a bit of a baptism by fire then?

Yeah, pretty much. Finished school, straight into it.

Q3: Where is your weirdest pocket of fans?

Ah…Germany.

Pretty big following there?

Yeah, yeah, played quite a few big shows over there.

Germans really like that Australiana sound then?

Yeah it was weird, before we set up there was no one there and then we walked into the room and it was like…I dunno, there were heaps of people there.

Did they know all the lyrics?

Yeah, yeah, it’s pretty cool there.

Couldn’t imagine a bunch of Germans singing along to Smoko Yeah it doesn’t sound right aye.

Q4: So there’s this idea in the punk/metal community that you haven’t really made it until you’ve toured Europe. Did you find that the Australiana sound translated well?

Yeah, they kinda…so I actually, so in Europe it’s a bit funny because people don’t know the slang and stuff, I dunno, they’re all very interested. Asking us questions like what’s a smoko and that.

How do you describe that since you guys are the purveyors of smokos and that?

Yeah, so like people will walk up to me and be like “hey dude, do you wanna have a smoko?” and it’s like nah that’s not how you say it. But a smoko is just a 10 minute break, you don’t have to have a cigarette. That’s what I reckon a smoko is. Just morning tea isn’t it.

Q5: Triple J described you guys as working class heroes and compared you to AC/DC, how do you feel about that label?

That’s a pretty cool way to be described I think. I think we’ve kinda won the hearts of the tradies.

Yeah, the working class a little bit. So that’s pretty cool.

Were AC/DC your heroes growing up?

For sure, love AC/DC. Highway to Hell is my favourite album. Pretty awesome.

Is championing working class values a part of your politics?

Yeah, definitely. Most of our songs are about the things that working class people get up to. Or just everyday life things. Things that go unnoticed and all that.

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Q6: It seems like you guys just have a bunch of fun with your music, do you think it’s ever gonna feel like a job?

Ah probably not. I reckon we’ll *sound of balloon deflating in the background* just keep going.

Um, just take it as it comes and ride the wave.

Did I just hear a balloon deflating in the background?

Ahahaha yah heard that hahahahaha. Yeah me mates got the party happening.

That’s great hahaha Q7: What was it like playing with The Offspring in Frankfurt?

Yeah it was pretty fun, Offspring were a bit interesting. That’s just the way big bands like that roll. Good to see how all that works and stuff. Big show, big lights and stuff.

Were they your heroes growing up?

Nah not for me, I think Eamon liked them.

I had one mate who would just blast them full volume from his apple earphones just walking around school. He’s probably got hearing damage now.

Ahah, unreal. Me too.

Q8: Is there anyone you’re dying to play with right now?

Um…Paul Kelly. I wouldn’t mind playing with Paul Kelly.

I never would have picked that.

Yeah, I love all that stuff.

What’s your favourite Paul Kelly song?

Ah…From Little Things.

That’s a good one, my favourite is Bradman.

Yeah, I was gonna say that one.

Q9: I saw on your Insta that you guys were getting a bunch of pies. Where’s the best pie?

Yeah we had a pie eating competition on the Pist Idiots tour. Best pie was…ah there’s this place in Sydney, what’s that place in Sydney that pie joint? Yeah…nah not that one…maybe it’s not Sydney. Ah I dunno, my favourites are always the beefies but they’re only in Queensland.

There’s this place in Sydney but I can’t remember the names. Ah actually, the pies at that 24 hour bakery in Adelaide are pretty sick.

Oh! Bakery on O’Connell!

Yeah that one.

Yeah okay, are you gonna go there this Sunday?

Yeah, they’re pretty sick. Yeah we stayed there for one night, no wait two nights I think. We just ate pies and sausage rolls.

Yeah we stayed next door.

Yeah I got a pie floater there once. What do you reckon about pie floaters?

Yeah I have, definitely have.

What were your thoughts?

Yeah good.

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MORRISON LOSS

Words by Sebastian Andrews On May 21 the polls are proven right, and the Labor Party is handed victory. They gain 12 seats to hold 80 seats in the House of Representatives, and a plurality of the Senate (with support coming from the Greens and Jacqui Lambie Network). In effect Labor tentatively holds both chambers of Parliament, and Anthony Albanese becomes our 31st Prime Minister.

Nine years of the Liberal government, and Morrison’s tenure as Prime Minister,come to an end.

So, what happens to ScoMo? Morrison’s obviously gone as a leader for failing to capitalise on Australia’s relative success during the COVID pandemic and low unemployment rates, and winning what should have been a very winnable election against a rather bland opposition.

Privately, Liberals will rejoice. Although Morrison proved a bonus in middle-class electorates during a very presidential 2019 election campaign, it’s hard to deny that he’s a liability. He’s deeply unpopular among the general electorate. He’s seen as arrogant, a bully, a buffoon. Indifferent to suffering. Someone who shirks responsibility. And as numerous leaked messages reveal, this isn’t just the view of the electorate – it’s the view of his own party. So, while Labor supporters across the country cheer at his defeat, so will many of his own colleagues.

TWO

The Liberals will engage in what has been one of their favourite pastimes over the last decade – a bloody leadership battle. Frydenberg will step up from the moderate side. Dutton will step up from the national right, hoping this time to get the job himself, instead of having another bumbling idiot stumble in after he’s done all the hard work. Whoever wins out of the two will depend on which Liberals are left. But Frydenberg is more popular among Liberal voters, and the general electorate - something which I suspect the centre-right will acknowledge. Frydenberg will win a narrow contest.

Dutton will go back to lurking. However, should Frydenberg get knocked off, the chances of Dutton becoming a leader will increase vastly in my view.

Regardless of who wins, the election will follow another three years of attacking Albanese andhowling down the Labor party for failing to immediately reverse all they’ve wronged in their nine years of government. All of a sudden, the economy will be in shambles. Suddenly an unemployment rate of 4% won’t matter because people can’t afford petrol.

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On May 21, the close election ends in Morrison’s favour. Losses are held to a minimum, while the Coalition flips enough seats in the East to eke out a narrow majority in the House. Morrison becomes the first Prime Minister since Howard to be elected to office for a second time. (You’re probably rolling your eyes, but this scenario is certainly possible. Although Labor’s likely to gain two seats out of WA and Boothby in SA, they very well could come short with other marginal seats).

What happens now?

Instead of addressing stagnant wages, rising global temperatures, and increasing housing unaffordability, the government is likely to push through controversial voter I.D laws to tackle a voter fraud that doesn’t exist. They’ll push Sex Discrimination Act amendments if Morrison feels confident enough to touch that again. Further, they’ll push conservative senator Claire Chandler’s private members’ bill to bar transgender children from sport. For what it lacks in ambition and breadth, the agenda will be targeted and brutal.

Although Dutton and his hard-right supporters will scheme and linger, waiting for their time to strike, Morrison will essentially be untouchable. He’s won not one, but two tough elections.

Despite all the talk of Scomo being hated by the electorate, he’s been returned by them and saved them from being condemned to opposition benches.

OUTCOMES

MORRISON WIN

Albanese on the other hand is gone. It’s likely that his replacement will be someone from the right. Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers will likely throw his hat in the ring. Chris Bowen, former shadow-treasurer and another high-ranking figure from the right may have another go (with the stink of 2019’s election loss having faded from him a little). From the left, it will probably be Plibersek. I’d expect Chalmers to win. A loss for the Labor Party will have likely resulted from an inability to crack through in Queensland and secure white working-class voters, and the party will view him as the candidate best-equipped to fix these issues. Expect a lot of soul-searching in the months following the party’s fourth consecutive loss (no less against someone supposedly so personally repugnant as Morrison). The party’s response will likely be a further tack to the right on some issues (particularly climate change, immigration, and national security). Perhaps Labor’s health rhetoric will be ditched in favour of a greater focus on ‘the economy’ as they conclude that they need to challenge the Coalition’s perception as natural economic managers. Wherever they go or not, expect them to head in the opposite direction they should be. Instead of embracing an ambitious climate policy and a greater humanitarian approach that will play well in leafy, wealthy, educated suburban electorates, they’ll keep chasing voters that are flooding to the Coalition, many of whom are unlikely to return. Instead of embracing the political realignment occurring in nations like the United States and the United Kingdom, Labor will keep clinging desperately to an electorate that no longer wants themitand wonder why they keep losing.

49

words by Shannon Rawlings My mother cries while folding laundry. A pencil sketch of a woman, weeping into long white sheets and tiny socks. All those fragile lines fraying and untethered, negative space where the shadows and highlights should contour around the apple of her cheek and her lips to realise the smile that used to greet me at the gate when she retrieved me from school.

My mother once told me that I had a sister who was the size of a strawberry. I often dream of holding her in the palm of my hand and cradling her while she sleeps. How peaceful she would be in my dollhouse, with its intricate ceiling roses and delicate hand-laid wallpapers sourced from the most elegant French maisons. My father speaks of thread counts and cornice moulding in drawn-out words and pregnant pauses when he lets me sit upon his knee.

My mother sings while she knits, and the songs are sweet and soothing like the golden syrup she pours into my tea when I am sick or the hand that envelops mine when she guides me across the road. She sings and knits, and the needles click together in a tempo that only sometimes and rather clumsily catches the tune. And while she sings, long threads of wool coil together to make bonnets and blankets and tiny pairs of socks that live in a box shoved under her bed, hidden from my father.

My mother loves in a way that is spoken through touch and how she attends the cloud of ether around my father. She spells out love through the spirals and strokes of her fingers on my back. She keeps the words in her throat with the tears she hides from my father, the ones she doesn’t want to give him. The ones he can’t see from beyond the mantle of his glass.

My mother does not see me when I hide behind mountains of linen piled higher than I could climb to reach out my hand to her. Even my voice is too small to carry across the threshold between us. I wonder if she knew I was there would she swaddle me in muslins again, singing sweet songs while she cradled me in her arms? Would she all but forget the tears drying on her cheeks?

my mother cries while folding laundry.

50

it be w o g h

. wo r d s b y

Gr a

ce

A

t

ta

nded e it

an

I think everything ends how it began. There’s an undeniable circularity to life. We come into the world from nothing and we leave it, to nothing. Or maybe it’s something. I suppose we’ll all find out eventually. A song. It starts and ends in silence. A dance. It begins with stillness and it ends with stillness.

Friendship. Born from our innate desire to be accepted, and its death caused by our inability to accept. Romance...that begins with fantasy. Imagining what could be – who we could be with another. And if it ends, it ends because the fantasy died, or maybe you realised that the fantasy wasn’t even yours. If I’m honest, I think we focus too much on all of these beginnings and ends, when really it’s only the space in-between that makes any difference at all. It’s the life between the birth and death, the sound between the silence, the movement between the stillness, the companionship between the loneliness, and the reality of love between the fantasies.

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fruit aisle Words by Jenny Jung

The pomegranates are $5 each here.

But I always pause when I pass them.

Just to hold one in my hands and stare, Remembering much smaller hands that Held the same bruised red, impatient, As my grandpa cracked its shell open.

The bloodshed, striking, almost sacred, And the seeds like cheap plastic gems.

Rolling those cool seeds in my mouth As we spent the day watching TV together.

He never ate any himself, though, He knew how I liked pomegranates.

I don’t like apricots as much anymore.

The ones in the shops don’t compare – A duller orange, the rubber flesh imitates The delicate, unearthly gems of childhood That we had to hike for hours to pick.

We spent so many days in that forest.

The crisp breeze, tinged with wet earth And the trees like eclectic old relatives.

Apricots in a dusty heap in the basket On some old newspaper on the table.

They’ll always remind me of him.

I know how he liked apricots.

52

Words by Aden Hill After four years living as what he himself described as a ‘political hermit’, former Senator Nick Xenophon has announced his return to the sphere of SA politics at the upcoming Federal election. His return raises a lot of questions.

Why now? Well Xenophon himself answered this, saying, ‘I can no longer sit on the sidelines.

Incredibly, it’s gotten worse in Canberra. It’s nastier, full of hatred and bile that eats away at our nation’s core… So many of them are too busy doing a job on each other, rather than doing a job we’re paying for… I must come back, to call them out and to speak out on the issues that have to be tackled.’

Some may raise the follow-up question, who really cares about Nick Xenophon anymore?

After all, this is a man who left the Senate in 2017 to form SA-BEST, a much hyped third party that some thought were in with a chance to form government at the 2018 state election, but ended up failing miserably, winning no seats in the House of Assembly despite gaining 15% of the total vote.

A Review on Xenophon’s Career Before I comment on this further, let’s take a moment to refamiliarise ourselves with Xenophon’s work prior to his downfall in 2018.

His political career began in 1997, when he was elected to South Australia’s Legislative Council (SA’s Senate) under the Independent No Pokies ticket. While he never actually succeeded at having Pokies banned, he became a well-known public figure due to the wide range of stunts he employed in his re-election campaigns.

From driving a small locomotive gravy train outside Parliament House to bringing an actual goat inside to tell the government not to ‘kid around.’ Xenophon endeared himself to an SA public by making politics more interesting than people thought it could be. Another classic was the extremely catchy SA-BEST election ad, that had everyone in my high school singing, ‘Forget the rest, vote SA-BEST!’ Even after the failure of SA-BEST in 2018, I’ve continued to hear

Xenophon’s name tossed around in political discussions. At every Federal or State election since, I’ve had members of my family ask me, ‘What’s happened to Nick Xenophon? or ‘Oh, why isn’t Xenophon running this year?’ This demonstrates to me the continuing impact this man has had on SA politics and is the reason I’m interested in seeing how he could influence the election in 2022.

Since 2018, Xenophon’s Federal party, Centre Alliance (formerly known as Nick Xenophon Team, or NXT) has split, losing one Senate seat in 2019, while Xenophon’s replacement Rex Patrick resigned to form the Centrist SA regionalism party, Rex Patrick Team. Currently Centre Alliance has one Senator, Stirling Griff, and one member of the House of Reps, Rebekha Sharkie (coincidentally my local MP), in the former Liberal safe seat of Mayo. With Xenophon’s return came the announcement that he would not be returning to Centre Alliance, instead running as an independent alongside former NXT running mate Stirling Griff.

Will Xenophon make a triumphant return to the Senate in 2022?

It’s very possible. Last time Xenophon ran in 2016, his party picked up 456,000 votes nationwide, polling fifth behind the Coalition, Labor, the Greens, and One Nation. This included 230,000 votes in South Australia, enough to get three NXT candidates elected.

With the results of the recent State election showing a hard swing away from the Liberals, now could be the perfect opportunity for Xenophon to snap up some of those votes.

The scenario I see as most likely is this: Xenophon, using the name recognition built up over years of memorable service to SA, swoops in and takes the Senate seat currently held by Rex Patrick, with perhaps enough votes to get Stirling Griff elected to a second term.

No matter the result, one thing is for sure, the Federal election just got more interesting.

The Return of the King:

How the Comeback of Nick Xenophon Could Change the SA Senate Race.

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